Ten for Tuesday - Strange Milestones

Hey guys, Drew back here! This Tuesday's topic came by way of my Grandpa Roy, who called me last week asking who I thought achieved career milestones with the strangest teams. For example, people tend to not view Michael Jordan for his days with the Washington Wizards, and instead see him as a Chicago Bull. Towards the end of most players' careers, they may bounce around from team to team, causing confusion when we look back and think about who achieved what with what team.

With that in mind, I thought I would take this Tuesday to share with you all who I view are the Top 10 Strangest Milestone Teams in baseball history. For this, I only used the four major stat categories that contain select groups: Wins, Strikeouts, Home Runs, and Hits. Baseball is famous for numbers upon numbers that have been able to rank generations of talent, and 3,000 strikeouts/hits, 300 wins, and 500 home runs are monumental accomplishments that only a select group of players can say they're members of.

Top 10 Strangest Milestones

Honorable Mentions -
Gaylord Perry's 3000th Strikeout with the Seattle Mariners
Don Sutton's 300th Win with the California Angels
Eddie Murray's 3000th Hit with the Cleveland Indians

10 - Dave Winfield's 3,000th Hit with the Minnesota Twins

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Dave Winfield kicks off this week's Top 10 list with his 3,000th hit that took place on September 16th, 1993 against fellow Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley. But the thing about Winfield's great career that was odd when this moment occurred was the fact that he was not in a Padres or Yankees uniform at this time. He played his first 16 and a half seasons between those two teams until his involvement in a controversy involving George Steinbrenner's temporary ban from baseball caused the Yankees to trade him to the California Angels midseason.

9 - Phil Niekro's 300th Win and 3,000th Strikeout with the New York Yankees

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There is no way to leave a player off this list who played twenty seasons with one particular team, which is what Phil Niekro did between the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves. Niekro played between 1964 and 1983, and became known as the best knuckleballer in baseball history throughout his southern stint. If you remember, I actually included him on my list of the 10 Hall of Fame players who are least deserving of their achievement, however I do not think he was a bad pitcher by any means.

Niekro was 45 years young when he first arrived in pinstripes, aging similarly to a player you will later see on this list who was a Yankee past their prime. However, he was not over the hill in his first season in the Big Apple, as he won 16 games and made his final All Star team. He threw a complete game shutout on October 6th of 1985 for his 300th career victory, to go along with his 3,000th strikeout he recorded the July prior. Not many remember "Knucksie" for his appearances with any team that wasn't the Braves, but he collected his largest achievements with the Yankees.

8 - Don Sutton's 3,000th Strikeout with the Milwaukee Brewers

Don Sutton was another player from last week's list, and also came close to making this list for collecting his 300th win with the California Angels. He played fifteen seasons with the Dodgers before releasing him following the 1980 season. Sutton won 230 games in Los Angeles before leaving, and went on to play with Houston in 1981, Milwaukee between 1982 and 1984, Oakland in 1985, and the California Angels between 1985 and 1987. In this time, he struck out his 3,000th batter in Milwaukee on June 24th, 1983. Despite his multiple teams, he is mostly regarded for his time with the Dodgers, which is why he makes an appearance on this list alongside Niekro.

7 - Frank Thomas' 500th Home Run with the Toronto Blue Jays

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"The Big Hurt" was known for hurting his opponents, but he himself was hurt by his most recognizable club, the Chicago White Sox; following their World Series victory in 2005. Thomas was injured throughout the postseason that year, and did not get to play in the World Series, and seeing how the team could get through the playoffs without his aging bat in the lineup, GM Kenny Williams released him shortly after. He said he was never made aware of his release, which certainly was not fair to a player who had given his heart and soul to the organization for 16 years. He won two MVP awards with the Sox in back to back seasons, in addition to three more top 3 finishes for the prestigious award.

After a year in Oakland, Big Frank traveled up north to Canada to become the designated hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays. On June 28th, 2007, he hurt his 500th career home run off of Carlos Silva of the Minnesota Twins. Believe it or not, this was also the same day Craig Biggio collected his 3,000th career hit with the Astros.

6 - Gary Sheffield's 500th Home Run with the New York Mets

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The only reason Gary Sheffield, who never really had a team during his great 22 year career; is ahead of Frank Thomas on this list, is because people are going to forget where Sheffield was when he hit his 500th career jack. Sheffield played for Milwaukee, San Diego, Florida, LA Dodgers, Atlanta, NY Yankees, and the Detroit Tigers all before he landed in Queens. He was consistent everywhere he went, but no team was willing to hold onto him, as he did test positive for PED's and wasn't the best regarded clubhouse guy. However, Sheff managed to hold on to play into his age 40 season, and pinch hit on April 17th for his milestone achievement.

5 - Rickey Henderson's 3,000th Hit with the San Diego Padres

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The allmighty Rickey Henderson played a bit too long, but that's excusable because he's Rickey. Of his 25 seasons included four stints and a total of 14 years with the Oakland Athletics, and that is where most baseball fans associate him with. But towards the later part of his career, his speed became a commodity for many teams, and he swapped uniforms almost annually, occasionally returning back to Oakland as a pit stop. Henderson played for the Padres between 1996 and 1997, but it wasn't until his second go round with San Diego in 2001 when he achieved his 3,000th hit. An interesting tidbit I learned about his hit, recorded on the final day of the season, was that it was Tony Gwynn's final game. By joining the 3000 Hit Club that day, Henderson and Gwynn became the first pair of teammates to each have 3,000 hits at one time since Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker played together in 1928.

The more you research Rickey's historic career, the more you realize just how deserving he is of the credit he gave himself.

4 - Randy Johnson's 300th Win with the San Francisco Giants

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Man, the free agency era has really brought confusion to the milestone lists. Randy Johnson has been widely regarded as perhaps the greatest left handed pitcher of all time, and he was prominent for several teams during his storied 22 year career. But which team did he win his 300th game with? Not the Seattle Mariners, where he transitioned into the unhittable southpaw he became, or with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he cemented his place among the greats with his tremendous 2001 postseason. Not even the New York Yankees, who traded for his 41 year old arm in a 2005 blockbuster. Instead, the recent "dynasty" San Francisco Giants is the answer to this question.

"The Big Unit" was given a one year contract in 2009 at the age of 45 to pitch for the Giants, and it would be his final season in the big leagues. He won his 300th game on June 4th of that year against the Washington Nationals, the team that stemmed from Montreal, where Johnson was drafted and began his career.

3 - Wade Boggs' 3,000th Hit with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

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You may have thought seeing Wade Boggs leave from Boston to New York in 1993 was weird, but what's even weirder was how he hit number 3,000 with a fellow division rival, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Boggs was the first player to hit a home run for his 3,000th lifetime hit, and Derek Jeter joined the club in 2011. He was a pivotal part of the Yankees late 90's dynasty, but soon after he fled to Tampa to become a part of their newly formed team.

The strangest part of this ritualistic legend's career actually came after his retirement, when he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2005. It was then revealed that there may have been a clause in his contract with Tampa Bay that they would pay him to choose their logo for his hat featured on his Hall of Fame plaque. This didn't end up happening, but it gave the Hall of Fame the right to decide from that point on which team would be featured on each new inductee's plaque. If Boggs was shown with a Tampa Bay hat on his plaque, he would be number one on this list, with relative ease.

2 - Tom Seaver's 300th Win with the Chicago White Sox

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It was 1984, and Tom Seaver was fresh off of returning to his New York Mets after spending six years with the Cincinnati Reds. They had planned to resign their marquee ace, even at 39 years old, but lost him as part of a free agent compensation draft to the Chicago White Sox. Seaver could either retire a Met or join the White Sox, and chose against his former team that had partially given up on him, claiming to still have more left in the tank. He would go on to win 15 and 16 games respectively in his two seasons in the Windy City, and would retire the following year. On August 4th of 1985, he threw a complete game victory against the Yankees for his 300th career win.

It wasn't all bad for the Mets however, and despite having history with the organization, it was probably for the best to let Seaver go. In doing so, they were able to call up Dwight Gooden from the minors, who would win that year's Rookie of the Year, a Cy Young the next season, and become a key contributor of their 1986 World Series victory.

1 - Eddie Mathews' 500th Home Run with the Houston Astros

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This leaves us with this week's number one. Raise your hand if you remember anything about Eddie Mathews' tenure with the Houston Astros. Mathews has been a rather underrated Hall of Famer throughout time, but the 12 time All Star and 2 time World Series champion was known for fifteen incredible seasons on the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves. But between his years with the Braves and a year and a half stint with the Detroit Tigers that resulted in his second World Series ring was a half season in Houston that many seem to completely overlook. And it was in Houston where, on July 14th, 1967, Mathews quietly slugged his 500th home run. Houston's team was tanking in the standings that season, so they moved him to Detroit to attempt to start over. Today, he is the poster boy for this type of list, and easily ranked at the top spot.

As you can all see from these 10 moments in time, miracles don't always happen in baseball. Either way, these players all accomplished some very special things that should be regarded highly in baseball lore, but it is pretty strange to see them in uniforms you wouldn't normally associate with them.

Do you agree with this week's list? If you thought I left anyone out, feel free to start the debate in the comments below!

¡Felíz Cinco de Mayo! See Ya!

Mantle 16x20 Project: Rock Raines Edition

Hey guys, Drew back here. It turns out that my Tuesday class has already been cancelled all in part to a large snow storm heading through the Tri State area over the course of the next day. To all of you facing this storm tomorrow, be safe, because it certainly doesn't sound pretty. Fortunately, my Dad and I squeezed the Pinstripe Pandemonium show just in time before the storm yesterday, so I've got a whole lot to write about over the course of the next few days. At this show I was able to add 4 big names to my Mickey Mantle project. The first of which was one of the most prolific stolen base threats of all time, one whose veteran leadership helped guide the Yankees to their 1996 and '98 World Series championships. 

Tim "Rock" Raines was the first player I met on Sunday! I recently discussed Rock's case for the Hall of Fame when I revealed my 2015 ballot, and I easily voted him as one of my 10 inductees. Had it not been for Rickey Henderson, Raines would be calling Cooperstown home, but instead rode in the shadows and also faced drug issues right in the height of his career. However, since then Raines has been fully clean and recovered, and he was friendly to me when I got to step up and meet him.

It completely slipped my mind to wish Raines the best of luck on the ballot, which comes out of nerves without a doubt, but I do really hope he makes a final push and gets in. The former Expo was dominant during his prime; and despite his career possibly lasting a little too long, I believe he has the credentials to sit in a lower tier of hitters in the Hall along with guys like Jim Rice and Andre Dawson. One thing I noticed was that he was quite small for a baseball player, but maybe that size difference helped him steal more bases. He's probably one of the first players I've met that I can say I'm taller than!

This autograph show was loaded with star studded talent, and it was so difficult to pick and choose who and what I needed to get most. Wade Boggs and Mike Pagliarulo surrounded Raines on each side respectively, and the place just felt like a red carpet event all day.

My original idea was to put Raines alongside Rickey Henderson towards the bottom of my Mantle 16x20 project, but I then decided to let him shine in his own light as he deserves, and instead filled the top right corner of the photo with speed. Raines is above Mickey Rivers and Willie Randolph, and he signed it beautifully in blue sharpie. I love the way it came out, and while I wouldn't have also minded to have a ball signed too; I'll be able to get that taken care of soon (and hopefully with a Hall of Fame inscription)!

I'll be back tomorrow with more to report from a fantastic day of graphing! Again, everyone in the Northeast, be careful!

See Ya!

May TTM Wrapup!

Hey guys, Drew back here! I didn't receive too many TTM successes since my last update, but the few I did get back were pretty sweet! Take a look at my 115th, 116th, and 117th successes!

Wade Boggs: c/o Home, 3/3 in 10 Days

Boggs is currently signing autographs like his pants are on fire, and I had to get in on the action! I sent him $3, a dollar for each card essentially, and he returned the 3 back signed beautifully! I met Wade back in March of 2012, and he was a really generous, all around great guy. Eventually, I hope to send him a ball after I soon receive an order of balls I made. The 2009 Topps insert smeared a little bit but the other 2 definitely made up for it!

Mahlon Duckett: c/o Home, 2/2 in 13 Days
Duckett is one of the very few remaining ex-Negro Leaguers living today, so I had to reach out to him with a  letter. He was a smooth fielding infielder with a decent bat, and he played for the Philadelphia Stars and Homestead Grays during his career. I wrote him a nice letter, and he kindly signed both items I sent him: a 2010 Allen & Ginter card, and a beautiful 5x7 photo that my good friend William took at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama! Rickwood Field was home of the Birmingham Barons during its hey day, and he had the privilege of visiting it a year or so ago. He sent me a copy of the photo, and my plan is to fill it with former Negro League players' signatures! One down! He inscribed the photo "Phila Stars, 1940-1950".

Jason Kidd: c/o New York Knicks, 2/2
This success was a great way to cap off my week. Future basketball Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd signed 1 8x10 and 1 5x7 photo for my collection, and both came out beautiful! He's been known throughout his career for being a very good signer for his fans, and he sure did pull through for me. The 8x10 he signed was his celebration after nailing the game winning three against his former team, the Brooklyn Nets! I remember vividly watching the game and jumping up and down when he made the shot. It's cool to have that to remember him by. Secondly, he signed a 5x7 of him and Dirk Nowitzki hoisting trophies after winning the 2011 NBA Finals! I'm planning on sending it over to Dirk next season for him to sign it, and I sure hope it comes back!

Well, that's all I have for now; have a great day everyone! See Ya!

A Great Unexpected Surprise From Dad!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Wow, has it been a while or what. I haven't even posted once yet this month until now, due to an enormously packed schedule, you know, my same old excuses. Anyway, I can't really promise to stick around a whole lot over the next three months, due to school ending and baseball heating up. My JV team is now 2-0, and we mercied our opponent 15-0 yesterday, so it's looking like it's going to be a great season for us! I'm having a great time with it, and hopefully we can keep up the run we're on.

Anyways, I don't think a whole lot happened around here while I was away, but I've still been able to add quite a few nice cards to my collection during my absence. Some of which were long overdue on here, like all of this for example. Before the card show, Dad came home one day from work with a bit of a gift for me. Why? I have no idea, I guess just because he's awesome. While I continue thinking about why he did all this for me, you guys can take a look at what he came home with this time around:

We start with a few solid cards from the 1970's and 80's, most featuring at least one Yankee on it. He told me he got all of this from a local store with collectibles that we haven't been to before. Speaking for the Active Career RBI Leaders card; I find it pretty darn hard to see Reggie in an Angels uniform. A's? Yes. But besides that, it just looks weird. PS, there's more of Reggie coming. 

Next is out of 2008 UD SPx, from the Ken Griffey American Hero numbered insert set, which was probably one of the weaker insert sets from the past decade. I mean, Griffey was awesome, but I don't think any of these large insert sets of the same player ever seem to do well (see: Mantle Home Run History; DiMaggio Home Run History; A-Rod Home Run History; all of those 2007 Topps inserts). This card is about his 450th career home run against the Giants, which is pretty cool. 

Following up is this 1993 Fleer Ultra rookie card of Mike Piazza. Piazza was a little out of my time frame, but he definitely showed that catchers sure did know how to smack a baseball into the stands. He certainly went down as one of the top catchers of history, although I'm not necessarily a big fan by any means. Still a good card to have.

Following that were these two 1961 Topps cards going towards my set! I believe I didn't own the Harvey Kuenn card yet, but I know I had the leaders card, because I already knocked all of those off the list! Still I can put my doubles to good use, either by trading them or maybe even use them as fillers if they're nicer than my original. 

This 2009 UD Piece of History Derrek Lee starts off an awesome slew of relic cards to add to the collection. Lee certainly had a few monster seasons in his career, and I always thought he was a pretty solid player. This card is for trade, if anybody is interested in the card. 

However, this 2009 Upper Deck Dan Haren triple relic numbered to 99 is not for trade! Instead, this sweet relic happened to finish off my Haren trifecta, which can be seen on my trifecta collection page! I've always liked him a lot, although not many people ever give him the credit he deserves. That Angels pitching staff sure is scary this season. 

Speaking of scary teams, how about those Tigers? A lot of analysts are jumping all over Detroit's hot start to the season, some even taking them to win the Pennant. If their pitching holds up besides Verlander, and their big hitters stay healthy, they'll be a scary team to face in October, for sure. Here is a 2008 Upper Deck Miguel Cabrera relic! Cabrera has been perhaps the most consistent player in baseball for a few years, and now with Prince Fielder batting behind him; watch Miggy take home the MVP trophy this season. Coming from a Yankee fan. 

How about a relic of perhaps the classiest person in baseball these days, Chipper Jones. It's out of 2007 UD Masterpieces, which as I've said is one of my favorite sets from the past decade. I hardly get to watch Chipper play, but all I know is he's a certified Hall of Famer one day, and I doubt many hits I'll pull in the future will top the one I hit of his a few years back. 

Getting back to Piazza, here's a nice relic of his, out of 2005 UD Reflections! Like I stated before, I really don't own much of Piazza's cards, and I'm not a diehard fan, but it's a neat card to own, for sure. I don't see any catcher in baseball today who hit with the power this guy hit with. Certainly a once in a blue moon kind of player. 

How about a bat card of one of the best pitchers to ever step on the field, Steve Carlton? Certainly a different idea by Upper Deck, although I've seen it before. National League pitchers do bat, remember. Sure, they're almost always an automatic out, but their bats still play a part in the result of the game. Most collectors I know would prefer a nice jersey with a Phillies pinstripe, but I like it. To go along with it, the it's very colorful and all around a good looking relic card.

Iw. It's a Red Sox (sock?). But, fortunately, it's one of a player I actually like a lot, Wade Boggs! If you follow this blog well enough, I recently got the pleasure to meet Wade at a card show, which was really special for me. The photo he signed for me will soon be hung up on my wall in my room, and it will always be one of my favorites in my collection. This card here is out of 2005 SP Legendary Cuts, and numbered out of 75. Even though he's in that ugly Red Sox uniform, I guess I can deal with having it in the collection!

Finally, Dad was also able to pick up two awesome Yankees autographs. The first of the two was this slick looking Ken Griffey Sr. auto out of the Upper Deck Yankees Classics series! This isn't the first Griffey auto I've gotten before, but I definitely don't mind adding another! He certainly has great penmanship, which adds even more to how truly great this autographed set looks. 

As great as that card, as well as the rest of these are, not only can top this one. I told you there was more to come from Mr. October right? Hmmm....

2008 Upper Deck Premier triple relic autograph, numbered 15 out of 25, of Reggie Jackson. THE Reggie Jackson, as in one of the best sluggers the game has ever seen! Dad must not have been completely content after getting me my first Jackson auto for Christmas, so he thought I could use this one as well! I feel so spoiled, but boy is this a heck of a card. It looks sweet in person, as do most of the cards from the Premier set. Besides Thurman Munson, Reggie is my second favorite player from the 1970's Yankees teams, with Goose Gossage and Sparky Lyle in a close tie for third and fourth. I doubt I'll be able to add a Munson autograph anytime soon, if ever, so getting more of Reggie is always cool.

So, for the billionth time since I began collecting, Dad spoiled me with awesomeness once again. I can't begin to describe how speechless I was when I opened this, and as I said before, I don't even know what I did to deserve all this. Thank you Dad, so much.

See Ya!

March 24th White Plains Card Show Recap! Meeting Two HOF'ers!

Hey guys, Drew back here to finally wrap up the White Plains Card Show Review. Many bloggers seem to be able to pound out a whole show review within a few posts, but I prefer to go into depth on my pickups because it's not like I leave with a whole lot of money in my pocket, if any at all. The other day I thought about what my collection would be like without discovering these shows that take less than an hour to get to from here, and I couldn't even begin to tell you how much weaker it would be. I'm fortunate that I heard about them a few years back though, as I've gotten chances to meet players such as Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield, Ernie Banks, and even the whole Jets defensive line known as "The Sack Exchange"! 

At this show, I was able to add two more legends to the list of people I've met, both of which have been enshrined into Cooperstown within the past ten years. I had an opportunity to meet recent inductee Roberto Alomar as well, but the price for an autograph wasn't very favorable to my show budget. Instead, I met a guy with over 3,000 hits on the back of his baseball card, and a guy who was one of the most feared power hitters of his era. 

After waiting 2 hours in line for the free guys, I heard an announcement, saying it was the last call to meet one of the Hall of Famers I bought a ticket to meet. Dad had to take a few photos of the people in front and behind us in line with our camera because he had offered, since they didn't have cameras, and so following getting my Shantz and White autographs, he stayed there for a few moments getting their emails to send the pictures too. In the meantime, I took a mad dash through the show to try and make it before my player left, and fortunately enough by the time I got in the room, both Hall of Famers had absolutely NO line! 

With Dad and the camera not being present at the time, it gave me a few extra moments to talk with third baseman Wade Boggs as he signed my photograph for me! Boggs wasn't just one of the best third basemen to ever live, but he was also the third baseman that helped bring my Yankees to the World Series in 1996- the year that I was born. "The Chicken Man" made 12 All Star teams, while nabbing a few gold gloves in his illustrious career, which resulted in 3,010 career hits and a .328 lifetime batting average! He was wearing his 1996 ring, which I complimented, and I also said thanks to him for helping bring New York Yankee baseball back on the map. He was grateful and kind, and signed my 16x20 photograph beautifully with one of the nicer inscriptions I own. 

I couldn't come across any Boggs photo any more iconic than the one I was able to get signed, of him riding a horse after winning the World Series in 96'! The autograph came out beautiful, and the inscription reads: "To Drew, Best Wishes, Wade Boggs, '96' WS Champs, HOF 05". I just asked him to write it out to Drew, and then include whatever else he wished to include, and this went far beyond expectations. What an awesome experience.

Dad ran into the side room where Boggs and I were a few minutes later, and was able to meet him and take this great picture of me with the 5 time batting title winner himself! After I met the next player, I went and got my picture certified for $6 from JSA, since they run discounts on the players signing at the shows. I can't wait to frame it up on the wall, especially because the picture was from my birth year!

The two of us then scurried through the Alomar line to meet another Hall of Famer with absolutely no line- Expos/Cubs great Andre Dawson! "The Hawk" charged the same price as Boggs, and while he was a little quieter, it was still well worth it. Dawson was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2010, in his 9th year of eligibility. With a career average of .279, with 2,774 hits and 438 home runs, this guy was by far one of the better all around players of his time. To add to his list of accolades, he also won the 1977 NL Rookie of the Year, as well as the 1987 NL MVP, to go along with 8 gold gloves and 8 All Star selections. So, to say he wasn't Cooperstown worthy is a tad bit ridiculous in my opinion.

I had him sign a Hall of Fame custom for my set, which came out nice as always. He has one of the best signatures around, even though I don't necessarily understand why his 'd' in Andre drops down so low. Nonetheless, it looks really cool! The neat part about it, however, was that he signed the card sideways, and still managed a beautiful looking autograph! I've never seen anyone sign like that before, so I thought it was pretty cool.

Dawson seemed like a very nice guy, and I was able to get this picture with him, which came out really good in my opinion. Dad is getting better at pictures every time, so I gotta give him props for that!

That will just about conclude my Card Show review post series. We didn't come home with any door prizes this time around, because we didn't necessarily see any need for the prizes, and we figured we would let someone else win this time! Dad and I had an awesome time without a doubt, and I just want to once again thank him for taking me and treating me with so many awesome cards to add to my sets! You're the best!

See Ya!

White Plains Card Show Recap 3/27/11! Part 2!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Today we continue the mini series of White Plains card show pickups that I got last Sunday. This time I'm going to show you some of the newer cards I picked up as well as sharing the stories behind them!

2011 Topps Heritage Nick Swisher Green Refractor SP

This card cost me $5, which I thought at first was very steep for an insert card. However, I looked at some of the listings for this card, and it seems like the price I paid was somewhat fair. This was my only Swisher pickup at this show, but its a really nice card. Sometimes picking up a card without a bat or jersey relic or a scribble turns out nicer.

2007 Tristar Autothentics Blue Elvis Andrus Auto /250

I bought this card as well as the next card from the same seller. He seemed like a fairly nice guy, so I wanted to buy a little off of him. Andrus may not be Jeter, but he's turning out to be a great young shortstop. Plus, he has a really cool autograph! From counting, I think there's a good 17 or 18 loops in that entire autograph, and I feel bad for him because signing like that so many times has to hurt after a while! This is a nice card in person, but if it was on card I would like it more, since the sticker auto seems to be dirty on the corners and takes away from the appearance of the card.

2004 Upper Deck Legends Graig Nettles Autograph

Over the years, I've managed to pick up quite a few Yankees autographs, especially of players from the 1970's era. However, a few always eluded me, and this was one of them. Graig Nettles is one of those Yankees that should have been given more of an opportunity at the Hall of Fame. Had Brooks Robinson, possibly THE best 3rd baseman of all time, not scooped up all the Gold Gloves at the time, Nettles would've won a few Gold Gloves more than the 2 he owns today. He was an All Star, a Yankee captain, a strong power hitter, and a World Series champion, and I'm happy to finally add his auto to my collection, especially on a card that describes him so much.

1994 Classic Cream of the Crop Derek Jeter RC

The seller who sold me the previous 2 cards threw this in for free, and while it's not overly valuable and comparable to his top rookies, its a nice card of Derek Jeter before he began to make millions of bucks. The countdown to 3,000 hits begins Thursday, and I never could be more excited for the newest season!

2008 UD SPX Dan Uggla Autograph

Dan Uggla's been one of those players I've grown a lot of appreciation for over the past couple of seasons. I took him on both of my fantasy baseball teams this year, after he hit an incredible year last year for my team. He hits a lot of home runs and drives in a lot of runs, which is rare to find in a second baseman. He might not be as good as Robby Cano, but I think with one more good season Chase Utley will no longer be the 2nd best second baseman in the game.

2008 Topps Triple Threads Andre Ethier Triple Relic Auto /99

When this guy is healthy, he sure can hit! He was on my fantasy team last year, and when games counted, he always showed up. If he can limit injuries and stay consistent, he could have an excellent season this year! His autograph sure is atrocious but the card looks nice, and is only numbered to 99. It's been a while since I got a card from this set, so I felt like it was about time to get another.

2008 UD SPX Andy Pettitte Patch /99

Mike had a really fun time at the show, especially when it came to patches. He bought 2 patches himself and hopefully I can get a picture of them to show off on here. But, this one I had to claim dibs on, and I'm so happy I did. For a nice price of $8 from my favorite dealer at the entire show, a guy named Hunter, I got this 3 color patch of Andy along with a small jersey piece with a pinstripe! Talk about all in one! Even though he's not shown as a Yankee and the patch is clearly from an Astros uniform, it will safely rest in my Yankees collection!

2005 Upper Deck Heroes Wade Boggs Auto /99

My final pickup of the day was a good one. It took me literally an hour of pacing around the show with about $30 on me, trying to decipher what I wanted most. This Wade Boggs autograph was the one I walked home with, and I couldn't be happier. Again, I bought the card from Hunter, my favorite seller of all of the ones I've dealt with, and I couldn't have found a better place to give my money to. Boggs was an outstanding player, maybe more notably for Boston, but he won a World Series with the Yankees in 1996, something the Red Sox could never deliver their All Star. He retired with over 3,000 hits, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005 along with Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg.

What do you think of my/dad's pickups? We've got a little more to come still, so stay tuned for that!

See Ya!

My 3 Unlocked Cards

Well... it took absolutely forever because the server was impossible to reach, but I got my 3 cards I had to redeem. Since I didn't nearly finish my box break yet, I'll have more to redeem, but I'd figure I'd share what I got. Apparently you have to pay to get these shipped to you, so at the end of the year I might do the ones I want. Here are the cards I unlocked, and yeah, I might trade for Yankees.

1973 Mike Ryan:

1974 Randy Moffitt:

1987 Wade Boggs:

Overall I'm happy with what I got, especially happy since I didn't get any 80's, 90's or 00's scrubs. Getting 2 old school cards and a Boggs was a nice treat for me. I may keep the Boggs unless you throw me a card I want more, the other 2 are for trade too, but since I don't have them in hand, it'll be online. I'm also planning on gathering all my cards for the set into 1 package at the end of the year, if I want it or not. Topps did a pretty cool thing, and I'm impressed on how it has ran so far, except for the delays and traffic. See Ya!